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Leatherface (original timeline)
Leatherface is a fictional character and main antagonist in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre horror film series. Many consider him to be grandfather of all slasher movie serial killers. He is usually portrayed as mentally retarded, disturbed, or simply puppet of his family doing their evil biddings. He wears a mask made out of human skin which leads to his name Leatherface. Character is loosely based on real-life serial killer Ed Gein, who is remembered as one of the most brutal serial killers in American history, which also happen to skin his victims alive and wear cloths made out of their skin. Leatherface is usually shown with chainsaw which becomes iconic among the horror fan community but he is also knows for using large sledgehammer to bash his victims. Appearances Original series ]] In original series, Leatherface is played by then unknown Gunnar Hansen which was one of the many director Tobe Hooper friends collaborating on the movie. His real name was unknown, but in sequel to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre his brother Chop Top refers to him simply as "Bubba". It is unknown if this is the real name of Leatherface but his family being Sawyer, then logically his full name would be Bubba Sawyer. In The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Leatherface has two older brothers: Drayton Sawyer and a hitchhiker named Nubbins (according to Drayton in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2). Leatherface kills Kirk and Jerry with a sledgehammer, hangs Pam on a meat hook and then puts her in the fridge (apparently killing her), and kills Franklin with a chainsaw. He chases after Sally after she escapes from the cannibals' house, but the driver of an 18-wheeler runs over Nubbins the hitchhiker and hits Leatherface with a wrench, causing him to cut his leg on his chainsaw and Sally escapes him and he swings his chainsaw around in frustration. Played by Gunnar Hansen. In The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Leatherface kills two drunken teens named Rick and Buzz, and it is revealed he has another brother named Chop Top, who is a twin to Nubbins the hitchhiker. He tries to kill a DJ named Stretch but falls in love with her. At one point, he cuts the skin off of her coworker LG and puts it over her face like his own mask, and dances with her. When Stretch is put into the same position as Sally (with the cannibals' extremely old and frail Grandpa trying to kill her with the hammer), Sally and Franklin's uncle, Lieutenant Lefty Enright, arrives armed with chainsaws, saves Stretch from the cannibals, injures Drayton with his chainsaw, and fights Leatherface in a spectacular chainsaw battle, resulting in Leatherface getting impaled with the chainsaw. However, this does not kill him, as he is still able to fight back. Leatherface is last seen being hit by Grandpa with a hammer (intended for Lefty) and his chainsaw strikes Drayton. Leatherface is killed along with Drayton, Grandpa, and Lefty when Drayton sets off a grenade, which blows up most of the cannibals' hideout. Played by Bill Johnson. Since Leatherface was killed off in the previous film, Leatherface: the Texas Chainsaw Massacre III starts a whole new continuity for Leatherface, and he has a different family in this film. He does not die in this film. Played by R.A. Mihailoff. The next film, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, is also a different continuity, and Leatherface is a pizza-eating transvestite involved in Illuminati comspiracy rather than a cannibal. Again, he has a different family than in the previous two timelines. He survives at the end of this film as well. Played by Robert Jacks. Unlike other big slasher names Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger, Leatherface is not evil or sadistic. His only evil deeds are done because his family told him to. It is possible that he doesn't clearly understand difference between good and evil because he is mentally retarded and sometimes act like a child. He is clearly terrified of all new people coming into his house, thus killing in self-defense. In later movies of the series, there is a hint that Leatherface might be born from a woman possibly raped by his family members. It is referenced that he and his family are cannibals, because they are very poor and can afford to eat only that they hunt down, usually being road travelers. ]] Remake series ---- In remake of the cult classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Leatherface is shown as a similar but yet different character. His full name is known as Thomas Brown Hewitt, being a member of the Hewitt family. Unlike the original Leatherface, Thomas is portrayed as a big muscular adult man, being sadistic and is not mentally retarded. His intelligence is limited(so much so that he can't speek right), but he is not fully retarded as he was seen driving a car in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, a prequel to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake. In this portrayal, Leatherface suffers from a skin disease which eats most of his nose. It was said that he was picked on by other children during childhood because of his looks, making him anti-social and afraid of humanity. That fear would later manifest into anger, as Leatherface was seen bursting into rage when he was unable to find one of his victims that escaped. In both the remake and prequel, Leatherface is played by Andrew Bryniarski, stuntman turned actor.